Bahey eldin Hassan meets with United Nations Deputy High Commissioners for Human Rights

On Friday, June 27th, 2014, Bahey eldin Hassan, director of Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies held a meeting with Flavia Pansieri, the United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights. The meeting, held in Geneva at the headquarters of the Commission, focused on the human rights situation in Egypt as well as the most significant challenges facing the work of Egyptian civil society (especially human rights organizations). The meeting also dealt with the progress of negotiations with the Egyptian government regarding the establishment of a regional office of the UNHCR in Egypt. Attending the meeting along with Bahey eldin Hassan and the Deputy High Commissioner were Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies UN Advocacy representatives Paola Daher, Jeremie Smith, and Sohair Riad.

During his time in Geneva, Bahey eldin also held meetings with representatives of a number of countries and international organizations, as well as with members of the United Nations Human Rights Council. In addition, Bahey eldin met with a number of officials from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights concerned with the Arab region, namely Hanny Megally, head of the Asia and Pacific region, the Middle East and North Africa; Mona Rishmawi, chief ofthe Ruleof Law, Equality andNon–Discrimination branch; Faraj Fneish, director of Middle East and North Africa; and Mohammed Hogeg, a member of the Office. Bahey eldin also met with Egypt’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Dr. Walid Abdel Nasser at the headquarters of the Egyptian mission.

Bahey eldin’s meetings coincided with the conclusion of the activities of the twenty-sixth session of United Nations Human Rights Council which began earlier this month, and in which the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies presented a number of statements, and organized side events concerning human rights issues in the Arab world.

Before his meetings in Geneva and upon the invitation of Idris Yazami, head of the National Council for Human Rights in Morocco, Bahey eldin participated in the work of the Preparatory Committee of the Global Forum for Human Rights, held in Casablanca on June 21. He also held a meeting with Abdul Rahman al-Yousufi the former Moroccan prime minister as well as with a number of heads of various Moroccan Human Rights Organizations.